1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a support for beverage receptacles and more particularly to a beverage container support which may be cooperatively connected with or mounted on a variety of different objects to maintain a beverage container in upright nonspilling position.
Open beverage container holders have been in common use in automotive vehicles. Such holders have usually comprised a generally upright back or body portion having a forwardly projecting horizontal supporting base and a circular band intermediate the height of the body portion which surrounds the beverage container. The back of the body portion having a horizontal and depending end lip extending opposite the direction of the beverage base and band for engaging the glass window slot of an automotive vehicle.
Such beverage container holders generally have the disadvantage that their supporting features with objects other than an automotive inside the door surface and the fixed position rigid surrounding band, has limited their use to drinking glass sized beverage containers and automotive vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The most pertinent patent is believed to be U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,092 which discloses a cup retention apparatus having flexible receptacle surrounding arms arranged in end overlapping secured together relation which may be expanded to a limited diameter and in which a flexible support attached to one end of the holder body compensates for the various thicknesses of automotive vehicle doors when mounted at the window position.
This invention is distinctive over this and other similar patents by providing a generally rectangular body or support element of rigid construction generally positioned vertically upright and having a lateral horizontal base or platform normal to the plane of the body.
The unit further includes a pair of generally semicircular arms rigidly connected at one end with the body and projecting in vertically spaced horizontally parallel relation with respect to the base platform and terminating in end-to-end abutting relation. The arms have a memory and when expanded return to the above described position of repose.
Slots in the body receive band fasteners securing the beverage container holder to a plurality of various shaped objects in addition to automotive vehicle inside surfaces.